GOKSTAD SAILABLE SHIP AND PORTABLE PLAYER HOME v1.0b

- Another ground-breaking mod by SLuckyD

- Including a custom book & Skyrim naval charts by Mebyon

(HOPEFULLY, it's the prequel to the upcoming epic, 'Stone Unhenged' mod also by SLuckyD. See the included readMe files for more information on future plans on both mods.)

READ THE INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE DOWNLOADING AND USING. This Mod is still unfinished, but is 100% usable and performs as described below.

ONLY POST COMMENTS IF: you have something politely constructive to say, have a technical problem, or want to express your truthful opinion on the Gokstad (don't forget I READ this stuff, and may respond accordingly!).

[SUMMARY]

Sail the icy seas of the North, in REAL-TIME, using the FIRST sailable ship for Skyrim! The Gokstad will have you and your horse out to any island or coastal location in speed, safety, and style... did I mention you can ram it into enemies on the shore? Attack them with your bow or magic WHILE STILL SAILING.. for Skyrim drive-bys! The ship is also a safe, portable Player-home, with its own map-marker.

[DETAILS]

- Adds a custom-made, precisely authentic, SAILABLE VIKING SHIP. Modeled 1:1 scale to the real-life Gokstad ship in Norway.

- The ship is also a portable, safe place to sleep, perform alchemy, or permanently store loot.

- Available for free at a new dock; located just North of the East Empire Company Warehouse (near Solitude). The dock is immediately in front of the waterfront door (in the cliffside) which takes Player up to Solitude (inside the walls).

- PORTABLE MAP-MARKER; located wherever the ship is. Fast-travel is disabled while sailing, restored when 'anchored'.

- When beaching your Gokstad at a fast enough speed, it will cause fireball damage to nearby NPCs.

- Sail in full, REAL-TIME CONTROLS; in First OR Third Person view! Third Person allows you to seamlessly view Player from any angle while sailing.

- Player's last horse ridden will also hitch a ride on the Gokstad.

- Full Player controls are enabled the entire time; so Inventory and Quickslots may be accessed, as well as allowing you to ATTACK ENEMIES WHILE SAILING using a bow or magic.

- Includes a helpful navigation book created by Mebyon. This has a naval chart in it, which I will eventually place on a mesh... similar to the 'civil war' maps.

[DIRECTIONS/USAGE]

Location:

- There is are pre-discovered mapMarkers for both the dock AND the ship itself (wherever it may be). The dock is located near the EastEmpireCo Warehouse, as you travel the road toward the sea. If you use the door from Solitude (inside the walls), it comes out at a door in the rock cliffs near the water - RIGHT in front of that door is where you'll see the dock & the ship.

Starting the sailing controls:

- ACTIVATE the lever located at the base of the mast on the ship.

CONTROLS:

(watch for the speed notices in the upper-left corner of the screen)

RUNNING FORWARD - Acceleration (tap for just a small amount)

SPRINT FORWARD - Full speed ahead (only a tap is needed)

SNEAK - Brake & Reverse (keeps reducing speed while sneaking; double-tap for small amount)

MouseLook/CROSSHAIRS - Left & Right (turns the ship toward the direction Player is facing)

SNEAK THEN DRAW WEAPON - Anchor (immediately stops the ship and exits the controls)

Running aground/assaulting land:

- The ship will immediately stop and end the control script when the bow runs ashore.

If impact occurs at or above "Ramming Speed", a huge fireball is auto-cast on the entire area and explosion effects play.

- You may also 'park' your ship off-shore, and Sneak/DrawWeapon to anchor... then hop ashore for your assault or explorations.

- Be aware that enemies can and WILL come aboard your ship after you... if at all possible/close enough. If you activate the sailing again, they will eventually fall overboard; unless they kill you first.

Entering the Player-home:

- ACTIVATE WHILE SNEAKING AND WEAPON DRAWN, the same lever at the base of the mast

- To return back to the 'world' from the 'tent ship', ACTIVATE the lever at the mast again

Horse aboard the ship:

- It will automatically bring along your LAST RIDDEN HORSE... great for coastal horse thievery getaways! If you haven't ridden a horse since loading your current saveGame, no horse will be on the ship.

- If you ram your ship up on shore (for an explosion), your horse will NOT be damaged... so don't worry about harming MrEd (I disable its damagability until after the explosion).

Attacking enemies while sailing:

- Simply point and shoot! As soon as a weapon is drawn, the boat will stop steering and continue straight on its current course... so get your shots off quick before you run aground!

If you Sneak while your weapon is already drawn, the boat will slow down... it will NOT stop/anchor. You must sheathe your weapon, then the boat will truly stop.

[You CAN stop the boat's actual movement while your weapon is drawn, by jockeying between sneak & forward... but the control script will keep running.]

While in Third-Person View:

- The steering will NOT respond to your controls/Crosshairs' direction. You must briefly tap one of the directional keys (WASD) while looking in the direction you want the ship to turn toward.

- To stop the ship while in 3rd-Person, you must draw your weapon while already sneaking. This allows you to attack the shoreline while the ship is still moving - without having to quickly and constantly steer back away from the coast before crashing.

[I actually considered leaving it like that, as it creates a VERY challenging and fun scenario, AND balances this aspect of the mod. I may release an optional "unnerfed" version with this reinstated - for an added challenge for those looking for such a thing.]

[Real-Life BACKGROUND]

Gokstad: pronounced GAWK-shtahd (rhymes with "hawk's plaid"). In real-life, was the name of an area in modern Norway, now a collection of various farms, is believed to have been one farm. The word Gokstad derives from the words "gaukr" (cuckoo bird) and "stadir" (dwelling or farm). This 'Cuckoo Farm' is where the real Gokstad Ship was found at the time of its (re)discovery in the 1880s, buried inside a huge earthen round-barrow called Kongshaugen (King's Mound). The barrow was named thusly because of the belief that an ancient King was buried there. Unimaginative scholars, as they are wont to do, referred to the ship by the place where it was found.

SLuckyD: pronounced SLUH-kee-DEE' (rhymes with "plucky fee"). Slucky, or just Sluck if you're into the whole brevity thing, is the online alias for the creator of this mod, and a modder who has been on the cutting edge of Skyrim modding since the game's release. Unless I'm recruited to work somewhere which eats too far into my free time, I hope to continue offering the modding community more new releases, improving past releases, fixing bugs in the game, and helping others to make their own modding visions materialize. Few people know what SLuckyD means, as it's only been posted a couple times maybe... I'll probably stick it in a mod's EasterEgg somewhere.

[REQUIRED]

Latest Skyrim Update/Patch (v1.5.26.05 or higher)

[INSTALLATION]

- be sure to create a new saveGame BEFORE using this mod; in an area that is NOT changed by the mod

- copy the contents of this mod's DATA/ folder to your game's DATA/ folder (recursing subfolders)

- run the game; and in the Skyrim Launcher, click "Data Files"

- make sure the box next to this mod's ESP is CHECKED

(load order shouldn't make a difference, as I do NOT change anything Vanilla)

- click "OK" then click "Play"

- load your new saveGame and play

* After proper installation, there should be:

- 1 ESP in the DATA/ folder

Gokstad Sailable Ship v1.0b.esp

- 3 PEXs in the DATA/SCRIPTS/ folder

aaSLuckGokReset.pex, aaSLuckGokReturn.pex, aaSLuckGokSail.pex

- 6 NIFs in the DATA/MESHES/SLUCKYD/GOKSTAD folder

GokstadOars.nif, GokstadSail5_0.nif, GokstadSailStowed.nif, GokstadShields1.nif, GokstadShipMain.nif, GokstadTentShip.nif

- 2 DDSs in the DATA/TEXTURES/SLUCKYD/GOKSTAD/ folder

gokSailStriped.dds, gokSailStriped_n.dds

[CREDITS]

- Mebyon: for creating the magnificent naval chart for the coastline of Skyrim, and for taking it even further by making a book with valuable game information. ALSO for putting up with my 'editorial comments & advice' during the chart's development.

- Langskibet fra Gokstad ved Sandefjord; N Nicolaysen 1882 Kristiania, Forlagt af Alb. Cammermeyer

(this is the book I used to model most of the Gokstad)

- Bethesda: I used several Vanilla textures applied to my meshes.

[LEGAL]

Bethesda (or "Licensor" as defined in the Skyrim EULA) is not the author of the "Customized Game Materials" included in this package.

“THIS MATERIAL IS NOT MADE, GUARANTEED OR SUPPORTED BY THE PUBLISHER OF THE SOFTWARE OR ITS AFFILIATES.”

SLuckyD is not responsible for any damage these materials may cause, and/or failure to successfully deliver any stated products or services.